Two Russian oligarchs — in a love triangle with the same woman — are fighting over a townhouse in Miami.
New York lawyer Robert Hantman is trying to stop the property from being transferred to Yulia Drynkina, the ex-girlfriend of his client, Sergei Polonsky, and mother of three of his children, who is reported to be in a relationship with his former business partner Roman Trotsenko.
According to court papers, the villa was awarded to Drynkina in an arbitration proceeding in London in 2017.
Hantman moved on Monday to halt the transfer, alleging that Trotsenko has ties to Vladimir Putin[1] and is on the Treasury Department’s list of Russian oligarchs.
Polonsky claims in court papers that Trotsenko has spent $800,000 in legal fees trying to enforce the arbitration award and have the villa transferred to Drynkina. The villa is reportedly worth less than $2 million.
“Nobody lives there. It’s empty. But Trotsenko claims she should have it,” Hantman told me. “It’s not about the money. It’s personal.”
“Not only does Mr. Trotsenko’s placement in the sanctions list raise issues regarding the legality of the transactions,” the motion states, “but Plaintiffs have acted in bad faith time and time again.”
Trotsenko did not respond to a request for comment.
Polonsky, a billionaire real estate magnate, was arrested by Russian special forces and convicted of fraud by a Moscow court two years ago. The judge sentenced him to five years but then decided to set him free, saying too much time had gone by since his crime.
Drynkina, who is listed as a principal in a Florida business, Marusya Pro, doesn’t deserve the townhouse, Hantman has said, because Polonsky already gave her another villa in Miami, a $2.5